The Clay Circle

A small therapeutic pottery and clay circle for creativity, reflection, and connection.

The October Clay Circle is Fully Booked! 

We’re so grateful for the wonderful response to The Clay Circle. Our first gathering in September filled all six spaces, and registration for our October gathering, Gathering What Nourishes You, filled again on the same day registration opened.

The Clay Circle is intentionally kept to just six participants, creating a quieter, more connected space with room to settle into the creative process, work at your own pace, and enjoy making alongside others.

Our next Clay Circle date will be announced soon.

If you’d like to be among the first to hear about upcoming Clay Circles, new dates, and other creative offerings at Constellations, you can join our newsletter at the bottom of this page.

There are seasons when life becomes so full of responsibility, grief, burnout, or simply surviving that we lose touch with parts of ourselves. Not because they’ve disappeared. But because they’ve become quiet beneath the noise.

A few years ago, I found myself in one of those seasons. After navigating profound grief, burnout, a toxic workplace environment, and significant nervous system dysregulation, creativity felt far away. My energy was focused on simply making it through each day.

As I slowly moved through these challenges, something began to shift. Not because everything was suddenly fixed, but because I started to experience a little more space. A little more capacity. A little more room to reconnect with parts of myself that had been waiting patiently in the background.

One of those parts was clay. Returning to clay became an unexpected teacher. Again and again, it invited me to slow down, trust the process, stay curious, and let go of the need to control every outcome. Somewhere along the way, I also rediscovered something I hadn’t realized I was missing: play, joy, and a quiet sense of coming home to myself.

The Clay Circle grew from those experiences. It was created as a space where we can slow down together, reconnect with our hands, and remember that creativity doesn’t ask us to have everything figured out before we begin.

Sometimes what heals us isn’t doing more. It’s making space to create, play, and reconnect with ourselves.

 The Clay Circle is a beginner-friendly therapeutic pottery and clay experience designed for people who are longing to slow down, create with their hands, and reconnect with themselves. Unlike a traditional pottery class or pottery night, our focus is not on creating perfect pieces but on the calming, reflective experience of working with clay in a small, supportive circle.

This Group May Be for You If…

• You’ve been carrying a great deal and long for a slower, more intentional pace.
• You miss feeling creative but aren’t sure how to reconnect with that part of yourself.
• You’re craving time that feels nourishing rather than productive.
• You’d love to create with your hands without worrying whether it’s “good.”
• You find yourself longing for more play, curiosity, and joy in your life.
• You appreciate smaller groups where there’s room to breathe.
• You’re looking for a gentle, supportive space where sensitivity is welcomed.
• You’d like to reconnect with yourself in a way that feels grounding, creative, and meaningful.

Meet Your Facilitator

The Clay Circle is facilitated by Heather, Registered Clinical Counsellor (RCC), Registered Art Therapist (BCATR), founder of Constellations Counselling, and ceramic artist with a BFA in Ceramics.

For many years, creativity has been an important part of Heather’s own life and professional work. Returning to clay after a season of grief and burnout reminded her that healing isn’t always about talking through what hurts. Sometimes it begins by making something with our hands.

Heather brings a gentle, relational, and trauma-informed approach to every group she facilitates. Her hope is to create a space where participants feel safe enough to slow down, experiment, reconnect with their creativity, and discover what naturally begins to emerge.

You can learn more about Heather at the bottom of this page.

October Seasonal Invitation: Gathering What Nourishes You

Each Clay Circle is shaped around a seasonal theme that offers a gentle starting point for our time together. Through clay, reflection, and conversation, we’ll explore an invitation connected to the rhythms of the season and our own inner experience.

As autumn settles in, the season begins to turn inward. It is a time of gathering: gathering the harvest, gathering around tables, and gathering what will sustain us through the months ahead.

But what does it mean to gather what sustains you?

So much of our time and energy can be directed outward. Toward our families. Our work. The people we care for. The responsibilities that need our attention. The endless things that need to get done.

For this afternoon, the invitation is different.

What nourishes you?

What do you need more of? What brings you comfort, energy, pleasure, connection, rest, or a sense of being fully yourself? What might you choose if, for a little while, no one else needed anything from you?

Through clay, we’ll explore these questions gently, allowing your hands and imagination to lead wherever they want to go. You might create something connected directly to the theme, choose one of the creative invitations available, or simply make whatever you feel drawn to making that day.

There is nothing you need to create for anyone else.

The clay is yours.
The time is yours.
The choice is yours.
What you want to make is yours.

This October, we’ll gather around the table and make some space for the person who can so easily be left out of all that caring and doing:

You.

You don’t need to prepare anything in advance. The theme is simply an invitation to begin, and you are always welcome to follow your own creative direction as the afternoon unfolds.

Creative Invitations

Each participant will have about one pound of clay to work with during the circle, and how you use it is entirely up to you. You might spend your time creating one piece, make several smaller things, or simply begin with the clay and see what takes shape.

Throughout the afternoon, I’ll offer a selection of beginner-friendly creative invitations inspired by our October theme, Gathering What Nourishes You. You’re welcome to follow one of these ideas, adapt it in your own way, combine several ideas, or create something entirely your own.

🥣 Nourishment Bowl: Create a small vessel inspired by something you’d like to make more room for in your life.

🪨 Pocket Reminder: Create something small to hold, carry, or keep nearby as a reminder of what sustains you.

🐇 Companion: Create a small companion that represents comfort, encouragement, playfulness, strength, or simply something that makes you smile.

🕯️ Candle Holder: Create a piece that invites a little more warmth, rest, ritual, or pause into your everyday life.

Examples, simple forms, and other supports will be available if you’d like a place to begin. You don’t need to know what you want to make before you arrive, and what you create does not need to represent the theme in any particular way.

There is no required project and no expectation to make a certain number of pieces.

The clay is yours to explore. The invitation is simply to notice what you want, what you enjoy, and what feels nourishing to create.

What to Expect

• Arrival and tea
• Grounding together
• Introduction to handbuilding with clay
• Time to create
• Underglazing your pieces
• Closing reflection

Your clay pieces will remain with Heather to be professionally clear glazed and kiln-fired. They will be ready for pickup approximately 4–6 weeks after the group.

You are invited to participate in whatever way feels most comfortable for you. Sharing is optional. Conversation is welcome, and quiet moments are too. There is no pressure to create anything polished or perfect. Your curiosity to come and create in our circle is enough.

Group Details

Location: In person at Constellations Counselling — Group Room

Accessibility: Our Group Room is located on the second floor. Please note that the building does not have an elevator and is therefore not wheelchair accessible. If you have questions about accessibility or would like to discuss whether this space is a good fit for your needs, please don’t hesitate to reach out.

Date: Sunday, October 18, 2026

Time: 1:00–3:30 PM

Session Length: 2.5 hours

Group Size: Maximum 6 participants. This intentionally small group size creates a quieter, more connected experience where everyone has space to settle into the creative process.

Cost: $85 per participant

What’s Included:

• Clay and all materials
• Underglazes and glazing
• Kiln firings (Bisque and Glaze)
• Tea and light refreshments

Insurance & Reimbursement

The Clay Circle is facilitated by a Registered Clinical Counsellor (RCC) and Registered Art Therapist (BCATR). Depending on your extended health benefits, this group may be eligible for reimbursement under group counselling services.

You will receive an automatic payment receipt when you register from Stripe. A separate receipt for extended health insurance purposes, including Heather’s RCC registration number, will be emailed to you after you attend The Clay Circle and will reflect the date the group took place.

We encourage you to check with your insurance provider to confirm your individual coverage, as plans vary.

Refund & Registration Transfer Policy

Because The Clay Circle is intentionally limited to six participants and materials are purchased and prepared in advance, registrations are non-refundable after 24 hours of purchase.

If you need to cancel within 24 hours of registering, please contact us for a full refund. Credit card processing fees will be deducted from the refunded amount.

After the 24-hour refund period, you’re welcome to give or transfer your registration to a friend or family member if you’re no longer able to attend. Please contact Constellations before transferring your spot so we can update the participant’s name and contact information.

Registrations may not be advertised or resold to third parties.

If The Clay Circle is cancelled by the facilitator for any reason, all participants will receive a full refund, including any credit card processing fees.

Privacy & Confidentiality

The Clay Circle is a therapeutic group experience where privacy and confidentiality are an important part of creating a safe and supportive space.

To help foster trust and respect within the group, we ask that:

• Recording of any kind is not permitted.
• What is shared within the group remains within the group.
• You’re welcome to take photographs of your own artwork. If you’d like to photograph someone else’s work, please ask for their permission first.

Thank you for helping us create a space where everyone feels comfortable creating, reflecting, and participating in their own way.

See What Can Take Shape

Wondering what you might create in The Clay Circle? One video shares a few beginner-friendly possibilities, while the other offers a glimpse into the process of turning a simple ball of clay into something of your own. These are here for inspiration, not instruction. You’re welcome to follow an idea, use a form or template for support, or create something entirely your own.

Registration & Questions

Our Sunday, October 18 Clay Circle is now fully booked. Thank you for the wonderful response to this gathering. 

Our next Clay Circle date will be announced soon. If you’d like to hear about upcoming gatherings and be among the first to know when registration opens, you can join our newsletter at the bottom of this page.

You’re also welcome to reach out using the form below with any questions about The Clay Circle, future gatherings, accessibility, materials, or what to expect.

Save Your Seat (SOLD OUT)

Choose the day and time to save your seat. 

Can’t Make This Clay Circle?

More Clay Circles are coming. Each gathering will offer a new seasonal invitation and another opportunity to slow down, work with clay, and create in a small, supportive circle.

Join our newsletter below to be the first to hear when the next Clay Circle opens for registration.

Gather Your Own Clay Circle

Would you like to gather your own people around the table?

The Clay Circle can be created for small groups who would like to experience a gathering together. Bring a few friends, family members, colleagues, or people you care about for an afternoon of clay, creativity, reflection, and connection.

Your Clay Circle might mark a birthday, reunion, goodbye, transition, or new chapter. Or it might simply be a reason to gather people you care about and make something together.

Every gathering begins with a conversation. We’ll learn a little about your group, what brings you together, and what you hope the gathering might hold. From there, your Clay Circle can be thoughtfully shaped around your people, with a theme, grounding practice, creative invitations, and reflections created specifically for your gathering.

Gather at Constellations

Gather your group in our Vancouver Group Room, where the space will be prepared and waiting for you.

Clay, tools, underglazes, glazing, kiln firing, and facilitation are all included. There is no required project and no previous clay experience is needed. Creative invitations, examples, forms, and support will be available, while everyone is free to follow their own ideas and create at their own pace.

Clay Circles at Constellations are available for groups of 4–6 participants and are arranged by request based on facilitator and room availability.

Let The Clay Circle Come to You

Have a space where you’d rather gather? The Clay Circle can come to you.

We’ll bring the clay, tools, materials, and creative experience to a suitable location for your group, then carefully transport your finished pieces back with us for drying, glazing, and kiln firing.

Travelling Clay Circles are generally available within Vancouver and nearby communities. Because every gathering is a little different, availability and pricing are considered individually based on your group, location, travel, setup needs, and what your particular Circle requires.

Explore Gather Your Own Clay Circle

Curious about what a gathering of your own could look like?

We’ve created a guide to help you imagine the possibilities. Inside, you’ll find more about how a Clay Circle is shaped around your group, the therapeutic approach to working with clay, what happens before, during, and after your gathering, the different ways to gather, and answers to common questions.

[View the Gather Your Own Clay Circle Guide]

You don’t need to know exactly what your Clay Circle should look like. The guide is simply a place to begin.

Ready to Gather Your People?

Use the contact form above to tell us a little about your group, where you’d like to gather, and what you’re imagining.

You don’t need to have all the details figured out. We’ll begin with a conversation and shape your Clay Circle from there.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need pottery or clay experience?

Not at all. The Clay Circle is designed for beginners and experienced creatives alike. No pottery experience will be needed—just a willingness to show up with curiosity, work with your hands, and discover what takes shape.

What if I’m not artistic?

You don’t need to think of yourself as artistic to participate. Many people come to clay with little or no creative experience. The emphasis is on exploration, curiosity, and the experience of creating with your hands.

What will I make?

Each Clay Circle offers a seasonal invitation along with several beginner-friendly project ideas. You’re welcome to choose one of the creative invitations or adapt it into something that feels meaningful to you. Examples will always be available to inspire you, and you’re encouraged to make the piece your own.

Will I finish my piece during the session?

Yes. You’ll create and decorate your piece with underglaze during the group. Your pottery will then remain with Heather to be professionally clear glazed and kiln-fired. Your finished piece will be ready for pickup approximately 4–6 weeks after the group.

Is this a pottery class?

No. While you’ll learn simple clay techniques, The Clay Circle is a therapeutic group experience. Clay becomes a tool for reflection, self-expression, creativity, and connection.

What if I’m worried about making something “wrong”?

Clay has a wonderful way of reminding us that perfection isn’t the goal. The Clay Circle is a space to experiment, play, and learn from the process. There is no right or wrong way to participate.

Will there be limited spots?

Yes. The Clay Circle will be intentionally kept small, with a maximum of six participants, to support a more personal and supportive experience.

Is this an art therapy group?

Yes. The Clay Circle is facilitated by a Registered Clinical Counsellor (RCC) and Registered Art Therapist (BCATR). Together, we’ll use the creative process as a way to slow down, reflect, and reconnect with ourselves. Depending on your extended health benefits, this group may be eligible for reimbursement under counselling services. We encourage you to check with your insurance provider regarding your individual coverage.

What if I don’t want to share with the group?

There is never any pressure to share. You’re welcome to participate at the pace that feels right for you. While there will be opportunities for reflection throughout the afternoon, sharing is always optional. Some people enjoy talking as they create, while others prefer quiet moments of focus. Both are welcome here.

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